Hacker group LulzSec says it's dissolving itself

by Peter Svensson - Jun. 26, 2011 12:00 AMAssociated Press

NEW YORK - A publicity-seeking hacker group that has blazed a path of mayhem on the Internet over the past two months, including attacks on law-enforcement sites, said unexpectedly on Saturday it is dissolving itself.

Lulz Security made its announcement through its Twitter account. It gave no reason for the disbandment, but it could be a sign of nerves in the face of law-enforcement investigations. Rival hackers have also joined in the hunt, releasing information they say could point to the identities of the six-member group.

One of the group's members was interviewed by the Associated Press on Friday and gave no indication that its work was ending. LulzSec claimed hacks on major entertainment companies, FBI partner organizations, the CIA, the U.S. Senate and a pornography website.

The group also accessed and posted online last week hundreds of computer files from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, including officers' personal phone numbers and intelligence briefings on drug cartels.

As a parting shot, LulzSec released a grab-bag of documents and login information apparently gleaned from gaming websites and corporate servers. The largest group of documents - 338 files - appears to be internal documents from AT&T Inc., detailing its buildout of a new wireless broadband network in the U.S. The network is set to go live this summer. An AT&T spokesman could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the documents.

In an unusual strategy for a hacker group, LulzSec has sought publicity and conducted a conversation with the public through its Twitter account. Observers believe it's an offshoot of Anonymous, a larger, more loosely organized group that attempts to mobilize hackers for attacks on targets it considers immoral, like oppressive Middle Eastern governments and opponents of the document-distribution site WikiLeaks. LulzSec, on the other hand, attacked anyone they could for "the lulz," which is Internet jargon for "laughs."